Five great NZ cookbooks

Less than two weeks to go until Christmas and I haven’t bought a single present. After spending a couple of months in Europe earlier this year with just a backpack I’ve been aspiring to have less stuff in my life, but I do realise that other people might quite fancy a gift or two.

If you’re in a similar position on the shopping front, here’s a quick-fire list of Kiwi-authored cookbooks published this year that I wholeheartedly recommend. If you don’t know anyone who’d like a cookbook for Christmas then you can either a) give them to yourself or b) get new friends.

World Table: Recipes from around the world made in New Zealand ($45, available from worldtable.co.nz)

Nicola Martin and photographer Donna Walsh spent a year gathering stories and recipes from people of 22 different countries now living in the Waikato. World Table has a truly global menu, with recipes from places as diverse as Afghanistan and Columbia, Hungary and the Pacific Islands. The recipes are authentic and the stories are told with great tenderness. The icing on the cake – $5 from each book goes to The Settlement Centre Waikato. I wish I’d thought of this brilliant idea.

This is another great concept, executed with great elegance and warmth. Kathy Paterson’s gorgeous recipes celebrate the best of homegrown beef and lamb while maintaining a keen awareness of modern eating habits. There’s lots of useful advice on choosing the right cuts and cooking meat properly, and all the vegetable dishes are delicious enough to eat on their own. Lovely farmer profiles by Denise Irvine and evocative photos by Tam West make this a complete meal.

Ripe Recipes: A Third Helping ($60, available nationwide or at Ripe Deli)

I’ve never been to Auckland’s Ripe Deli but I know their first two books inside out. The third book is just as great as I’d hoped – full of clever salads, delicious dinners and lots of heavenly sweet things, cleverly and logically arranged by the seasons. After 15 years of running Ripe Angela Redfern knows what her customers come back for and she’s put that knowledge to good use. Her recipes look gorgeous, taste amazing and – most importantly – always work.

Always Delicious ($49.99, available nationwide)

No one knows New Zealand food like Lauraine Jacobs and she’s much loved by the country’s artisan producers for her persistent efforts to promote Kiwi cuisine. This collection of more than 100 favourites from her Listener columns is both beautiful and useful, with lots of inspiring and achievable dishes. Now you can stop buying The Listener for the recipes…

Shameless I know, but I couldn’t leave it out. Where else will you find all the secrets of the culinary capital’s best burgers? This is a must for burger fans, with nearly 50 recipes for burgers, buns and condiments, plus beer match suggestions. You’ll never look at a quarter-pounder in the same way again.